Primary Runoffs: Here Are Some North Texas Nominations Up for Grabs on May 28

What were you doing on March 4, 2024? Perhaps you cast a vote in one of the Super Tuesday primaries, but then again, given the low voter turnout, there’s a good chance you didn't. We’re not judging, of course. We know what Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton were doing: celebrating a good number of victories for candidates they had supported. 

If you missed your chance to cast a vote in March, you now have the opportunity to make up for lost time in a way as various runoff elections take place across North Texas.

The final day for early voting is Friday, May 24, and election day is Tuesday, May 28. And for the uninitiated, this isn’t just your average, run-of-the-mill slate of runoffs. For the better part of the past year, Abbott and Paxton have had Super Tuesday and these runoff elections circled on their calendars as dates when they hoped to exact revenge. So far, it has been a largely successful effort for both of them.

After a regular Legislative session and four subsequent special sessions in 2023, Abbott’s hopes for a school voucher-like program never came to fruition. After he was done calling special sessions, he vowed to support the opponents of the incumbent Republican reps who continued to deny his voucher efforts. As for Paxton, he aimed his scope directly at the many incumbent Republican reps who voted last May to impeach him on a number of allegations tied to abuse of power and bribery.

Not all of the Republican runoff elections include candidates who are “getting primaried” by Abbott and/or Paxton, and there are some Democrat seats of notebup for grabs in North Texas as well. The runoff election that will surely have the most eyeballs on it will be in East Texas, where Speaker of the House Dade Phelan has been locked in an ugly battle against Paxton-backed challenger David Covey.

This race in particular is an example of perhaps the most intriguing subplot in this entire GOP civil war soap opera: Abbott and Paxton agree on some races, but take opposite sides in other races. While Phelan has been enemy No. 1 for Paxton for some time now, Abbott has been neutral; meanwhile Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick reportedly donated $100,000 to Covery’s campaign. Former President Donald Trump has also backed Covey.

“There’s a meanness and an edge to Texas politics that I don’t think has been there since the days of integration,” SMU political science professor Michael Phillips told the Observer recently regarding the Republican infighting. “It’s surprised me how mean it’s gotten.”

But again, that’s just one race out of many. Let’s not forget about Katrina Pierson, the former Trump White House staffer, looking to unseat a local state Rep in District 33, or the race to succeed longtime Republican U.S. Rep Kay Granger in the 12th Congressional District.

Here’s a look at some of the other runoff elections to appear on ballots across North Texas, many of which could very well impact the battle over school vouchers in Texas.

Dallas County Sheriff (Democrat)
Marian Brown (Incumbent)
Lupe Valdez

U.S. Representative District 12 (Republican, Fort Worth)
Craig Goldman
John C. O'Shea

State Senator, District 30 (Republican, Gainesville)
Brent Hagenbuch
Jace Yarbrough

State Senator, District 30 (Democrat, Gainesville)
Michael Braxton
Dale Frey

U.S. Representative District 32 (Republican, Richardson)
David Blewett
Darrell Day

State Representative District 33 (Republican, Rusk)
Justin Holland (Incumbent)
Katrina Pierson

State Representative District 58 (Republican, Cleburne)
DeWayne Burns (Incumbent)
Helen Kerwin

State Representative District 61 (Republican, McKinney)
Frederick Frazier (Incumbent)
Keresa Richardson

State Representative District 64 (Republican, Denton)
Andy Hopper
Lynn Stucky (Incumbent)

State Representative District 91 (Republican, North Richland Hills)
Stephanie Klick (Incumbent)
David Lowe

State Representative District 97 (Democrat, Fort Worth)
Diane Symons
Carlos Walker

State Representative District 97 (Republican, Fort Worth)
Cheryl Bean
John McQueeney